$1.879

Well, the pump at the right tells the story. After gas prices sliding (mostly) for the better part of two months, the gas dealers have, in their non-collusive manner, all raised their prices this morning by 30 cents a gallon — an increase of about 19%.

What can you do, though? We (me included) are a culture grown to gluttony in our appetite for fuel for our cars, homes and grills. I’m hoping the the future holds a lack of dependence on oil for our transportation and heating needs — think of the wars we’d avoid! 🙂

I know that consumption at current rates will greatly endanger the world’s supply during my lifetime, and I just hope and pray that a viable alternative is discovered, and soon. Of course, there’s the whole conspiracy theory of whether the car companies, oil companies and (currently) oil-rich politicians would let that happen. I suspect that’s part of why the hybrids have been coming from overseas, where the crisis for oil is much more real, and the impact on the wallet is much more significant.